


Flesh and Iron

by Starbooks13



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: And Putting Another One In, Gen, Subverting the Phoenix Metaphor, Tony Feels, lots of them - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-11
Updated: 2013-05-11
Packaged: 2017-12-11 14:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/799591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starbooks13/pseuds/Starbooks13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark never left Afghanistan.  No, this isn't an AU. (NO IM3 SPOILERS).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flesh and Iron

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was trying to work on another fic and I had an attack of the Tony Feels. This is what happened.

                Tony Stark should have died in a cave in Afghanistan.  If not for Yinsen, he would have.  Even without his injuries, Tony would have found some way to get himself killed.  Having another person there, another life on his conscience, that kept him alive.  In so many ways, Yinsen gave him a reason for living.

                Yet, at the same time, the man who was Tony Stark never left Afghanistan.  Tony would later boast that he was the world’s greatest phoenix metaphor, but in reality he hadn’t been reborn.  He had died in that cave.  Anthony Edward Stark was weak.  He was made of flesh: easy to puncture, damage, squash, pulverize, break.  He was exposed: the whole world knew him, or at least they thought they did.  He was helplessly in the dark: his own company had been dealing arms under the table to terrorist groups, and as Tony would later discover, the man he viewed as his mentor had been behind everything.  

                No, Tony Stark could not cope with the harsh reality of his situation, could not defeat all the enemies that wanted to tear him apart standing in front of him with smiles on their faces and daggers behind their backs.  He could not survive the terrorists and traitors.  He could not stand with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against an alien army and survive.  He could not be the man James Rhodes would be proud to call his best friend.   He could not be the man who could stand by Pepper Potts’ side instead of running away while she stayed behind to clean up his messes.

                The man who left Afghanistan could.  The man Yinsen helped forge in a cave with a box of scraps.  The man Yinsen had taught how to live.  The man with electronic eyes and a voice in his head.  The man with metal skin and a metal heart.

                Tony Stark couldn’t.  Iron Man can.                  


End file.
